In general, a nail-varnish applicator arrangement comprises a reservoir for the product to be applied and a product applicator, such as a brush including a tuft of bristles, fixed to a first end of a wand, the wand being fixed by its other end into a cap intended to close the reservoir so that the tuft of bristles is immersed in this product when the applicator arrangement is closed.
In order to ensure good closure of the arrangement, the reservoir includes a neck equipped with a first screw thread which interacts with a second screw thread provided in the cap. The neck is generally thick and flat and equipped with a sealing ring. The wand is held in the cap via a support which comprises a sealing disc. This sealing disc is in contact with the sealing ring of the neck when the applicator arrangement is closed. The screw thread is formed along the entire height of the neck and comes flush with the upper end of the neck.
In order to apply the product to a nail, the applicator member which is impregnated with product is withdrawn from the reservoir. In general, the brush has an excess of product. It is therefore necessary to remove this excess of product and for that, the user wrings the brush out by wiping it on the end of the neck of the reservoir. As the end of the neck is flat and thick and constitutes a bearing surface, some product will remain on the neck and run along the external wall of the neck and thus soil the screw thread of the neck. When the cap is again screwed back on to close the reservoir, the product spreads out over the neck and into the screw thread. When it has dried, the product thus forms a dirty mark on the cap/neck arrangement. Upon subsequent use it is then difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to unscrew the cap from the reservoir. Furthermore, the product on the neck no longer allows the applicator arrangement to be sealed correctly because the sealing disc is no longer in leak-tight contact with the sealing ring of the neck. Furthermore, because the disc bears on the end of the neck, the disc no longer perfectly matches the relief of the end of the neck when the end is soiled after first use, and this further reduces the sealing effect.
In order to avoid dirtying the screw thread of the neck, Patent CH-C-535,167 proposes to extend the orifice of the neck using a tube having a flat and thick end. When the cap is screwed onto the bottle, a gap remains between the lateral wall of the cap and the wall of the tube preventing the excess product from soiling the screw thread of the neck. However, in the event of a substantial amount of product flowing down along the external wall of the tube, after the brush has been wrung out on the flat end of the tube, the screw thread of the neck may after all become soiled with product. In addition, owing to the flat end of the tube, a deposit of product is formed after each wringing-out operation, leading to a reduction in the sealing effect.
The present invention therefore aims to overcome the abovementioned drawbacks.